8/1/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 2. 5-6)

“But the man who takes care of the sheep enters through the gate. He is the shepherd. The one who guards the gate opens it for the shepherd [that he might come in.]” (John 10.2-3a)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Jesus demonstrated with His own life the dual purpose of being both the gate (portal, threshold, door) into the Kingdom as well as the gatekeeper (portal master, door person and threshold monitor). We must not think for a minute that this is the sole duty and responsibility of Jesus alone. This opportunity and call belongs to every Christ follower. It is an awesome responsibility that requires due diligence, right knowledge and steadfast faith. In this regard, all believers in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior are both gateways through which other may enter into the Kingdom of God as well as the gatekeepers to protect the Kingdom of God from being infiltrated and polluted by the sin-fected world. If we remember the description of the New Jerusalem from our reflection on the Book of Revelation, it would be the place of the twelve apostles as the gates in the walls through which the faithful would pass and enter in. It was clearly stated that no swinging gate or door would stand in the place thus sealing off the Kingdom from the world. It was the sheer faith and presence of the apostles which kept the darkness at bay. Using image from science-fiction we would imagine a “force field.” But, this was not something you could activate and walk away from. No, the apostles kept vigilant watch and their mere presence was sufficient. With this in sight, I hear the words which Jesus spoke in “the sermon on the mount,” saying “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5.37)

Imagine the true authority of such faith which the darkness and the demons who inhabit it would obey without question. They might test it once but once would be enough. Now, would this be caused by the apostles themselves? No! It would be enacted by the embrace of the Word of God made known in, of and as Jesus the Christ. They spoke as “one with authority.” That authority came from Jesus who in turn received it from God. Jesus said as much when He spoke to the disciples, as John recorded from “messages at the Last Supper,” saying “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.“(John 15.15) So in tune with Jesus as the Christ were the apostles that the “two became as one, just as the Father and the Son were one.” And we know that it was not merely Father and Son as one unit but made complete by the presence of the Holy Spirit as well. The circle of life was made complete as the three were united as one. Jesus said before this, “I have no need to show you the Father for if you have seen Me then you have seen the Father and that is enough.” Imagine what this world might look like today if the “keepers” of the faith and the faithful maintained and lived out the very image in which they were originally created before they were in the womb. This would be mandated not by God but by our choice to live expressly by “every word which proceeds from the mouth of God, not merely bread alone.” This was one of three responses which Jesus uttered to keep Satan at bay in the wilderness. He silenced the temptations of the Father of Lies by speaking in true faith and faithfulness the essence of the Father of wisdom.

Hear, mighty ones of God, the expectation which is asked of us as followers of Jesus as the Christ. He is the only true way in which eternal life in Heaven, whether on earth or in Heaven and one day there will be no difference, will be entered into. We are called to walk in the light of His word by practicing His walk in life. It is not a casual affair but it can become as easy as “riding a bike.” It is said that “once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget.” But, we are not merely “riders of bikes” as if we were “hearers of the word only.” No, indeed, we are “performance riders” as those in Grand Tours who are “doers of the word.” It requires due diligence and righteous intentionality. It is knowing that “our yes is God’s yes” and “our no is God’s no.” It is not a matter of opinion as something we think we believe. It is a matter of truth which we know we believe. This is the matter of faith. We know that “faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.” (Hebrews 11.1) Can you see that “faith force field” now which is present in the gateways of the walls of New Jerusalem? It is to be practiced to be evident in this world as well. It should be present in our lives, in our homes, in the lives of those who live in those homes as well as in the lives of those who cross the thresholds of those homes. It should be in our schools, our businesses, our places of recreation and in our vehicle doors which transport us from one place to another. It should be in the halls of justice as well as in the seats of governments. It should be one the streets and every street corner. It should be as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well when He posed, “The day is coming when we shall worship neither on this or that mountain but in spirit and in truth.” It is not a “supernatural” phenomenon but one that is natural and normal within the realms of the Kingdom. And being steadfast to that reality and truth alone will keep the evil from “entering in to steal, kill and destroy.” We ought to be convicted, convinced and constructed to be like the door/gate and doorway/gateway which is Jesus the Christ. Our hope should be that when the world looks at us they see Jesus and in Him they see God. If they do then we shall see with them the fullness of God’s mercy and grace. One day we will stand face to face with God and know His glory, power, dominion, authority and love as we cannot imagine here on earth as it would be in Heaven. Until that day comes, let us strive to be who we have always been intended to be and settle for nothingless than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed Yourself to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.